The Family Life Education Needs of Midlife and Older Adults*

• Author: Michael Lane Morris,Sharon M. Ballard
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2003.00129.x
• Published date: 01 April 2003
• Date: 01 April 2003

2003, Vol. 52, No. 2 129

The Family Life Education Needs of Midlife and Older Adults*

Sharon M. Ballard** and Michael Lane Morris

Using a life course perspective, we report the findings from a needs assessment for midlife and older adults regarding family life

education. A sample of 264 adults aged 50 and older indicated interest in 29 family life education topics. The highest rated topics

were nutrition and health, fitness and exercise, and positive aspects of aging. Overall, results from age and gender comparisons

suggested that midlife adults (50–64) were more interested in family life education topics than were older adults (65

1

) and that women

were more interested than men.

Demographic trends indicate an increase in midlife and

older adult populations. People are living longer and

healthier; yet the number of older adults who will need

assistance with activities of daily living will grow simply be-

cause of the aging population (American Association of Retired

People [AARP], 1998). In the face of exponential increases in

the cost of long-term care, there has been a shift from institu-

tionalized care to home- and community-based care (AARP)

with approximately one quarter of American households in-

volved in providing caregiving services for an older family

member (Pandya & Coleman, 2000). Midlife and older adults,

however, are not the only ones receiving care. Many also find

themselves caring for other older adults such as spouses, sib-

lings, and parents, and there is an increased trend for grandpar-

ents to be the primary caregivers of their grandchildren (AARP).

Despite the common knowledge that America is aging, there

has been limited attention given to the family life education

needs of midlife and older adults and their families (Arcus,

1993). Family life education is a process that focuses on

strengthening and enriching individuals and families (Thomas &

Arcus, 1992), and older adulthood is

a key time for family life education, as adults not only at-

tempt to meet their own needs for family living but also

may bear some responsibility for the family needs of other

generations, that is, the needs of parents, their children, and

possibly their grandchildren. (Arcus, p. 181)

Shifting family roles, increased caregiving, grandparenting,

and maintaining independence in aging are just a few of the

topics that could be addressed in family life education programs

targeted at midlife and older adults.

For purposes of this study, we define midlife and older

adults as adults aged 50 and over. We divided the population

into four age subgroups: 50–64 (midlife), 65–74 (young old),

75–84 (old old), and 85 and older (oldest old). By defining the

population as age 50 and older, we were able to includemembers

of the baby boom generation who are currently transitioning into

this life stage in great numbers. Population projections indicate

that adults age 50 and over will reach almost 127 million by

2030 or about 36% of the population (U.S. Census Bureau,

2000). In addition, the sampling frame used for this study was

*Partial funding for this study was provided by B.E.S.T families. This article was

presented as a poster at the Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations,

November 2000, Minneapolis, MN.

**150 Rivers Building, Department of Child Development and Family Relations, East

Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858 (ballards@mail.ecu.edu).

Key Words: educational gerontology, family life education, needs assessment, older

adults.

(Family Relations, 2003, 52, 129–136)

the membership list for a program open to individuals aged at

least 50 years. Defining our population in this way allowed us

to maximize the data available and to gain important insight into

midlife as well as older adults.

Along with limited attention to family life education for

midlife and older adults, there has been limited attention to the

use of theory in family life education (Arcus, 1993). In this

article, we take a first step toward filling these two gaps by

exploring a theoretical framework for addressing and measuring

this increasing need for family life education among midlife and

older adults. The purpose of the study was threefold: (a) to es-

tablish and test a theoretical framework for family life education

with midlife and older adults, (b) to assess the needs of family

life education among midlife and older adults, and (c) to test a

needs assessment instrument. The integration of two relevant ar-

eas of research (family life education and educational gerontol-

ogy) and one theoretical framework (the life course perspective)

provided a foundation for addressing the following research

questions: What topics in family life education do midlife and

older adults report a need and an interest? What gender, age,and

role differences are there in these perceived needs?

Theoretical Perspective

The life course perspective is an interdisciplinary theoretical

perspective that integrates the individual, the family, and history

(Aldous, 1990) and has promising application to education with

midlife and older adults. Rather than viewing midlife and older

adults as a homogeneous group, a life course perspective views

them as cohorts with differing life experiences (Hareven, 1996).

It ‘‘emphasizes the importance of time, context, process, and

meaning on human development and family life’’ (Bengtson &

Allen, 1993, p. 471) and blends family development, human de-

velopment, life-span development, and the sociology of age

stratification. Three central assumptions of the life course per-

spective are relevant to this study: multiple time clocks, social

ecology, and heterogeneity.

The multiple time clocks assumption refers to three time

frames involved in studying change in families over time and

the behavior of individual family members (Bengtson & Allen,

1993). The first time frame is ontogenetic time, usually measured

in chronological years. Ontogenetic time often is closely linked

with health status, which may provide clues as to the structural

needs (e.g., location, length of time) of midlife and older adults.

The second time frame is generational time and is measured

by the biogenetic statuses (e.g., parent, grandparent) that one

holds along with the roles, expectations, and identities that are

part of those statuses. An understanding of generational time can

be the impetus for planning the family life education topics to

be covered. For example, knowing that someone is a grandparent

and understanding the roles and expectations that go along with

grandparenthood may imply a need for grandparent education.